L.A. Clippers' Blake Griffin protects the basketball as he drives to the basket against the Phoenix Suns. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Golden State Warriors' Stephen Curry points after making a 3-point basket ,next to Memphis Grizzlies' Marc Gasol (33) during the first half of an NBA basketball game Monday, April 13, 2015, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

A look at the eight first-round, best-of-7 series in the NBA playoffs:

Clippers vs. Spurs

Season Series: Tied 2-2. Clippers won by 20 in San Antonio in January, before the Spurs found their end-of-season groove. Both teams went 1-1 on the other team’s floor.

Story Line: The best of the eight first-round matchups could very well be this one, pitting the defending champion Spurs against a Clippers team that’s still looking for that big postseason breakout. San Antonio rolled through the last third of its schedule, but now the question is whether the Spurs will be deflated by missing out on a chance to finish No. 2 in the West and falling to the 6 spot.

Key Matchup 1: Chris Paul vs. Tony Parker. They’ve gone head-to-head 43 times, and Paul has the better stats — but Parker and the Spurs have won 28 of those matchups.

Key Matchup 2: Blake Griffin vs. Tim Duncan. Anytime a pair of former No. 1 picks get together — Duncan from 1997, Griffin from 2009 — it’s going to be worth watching. Duncan’s next playoff game will be the 235th of his career, while Griffin has played in only 30.

X-Factor: Kawhi Leonard. Since the start of the 2013 playoffs, the Spurs are 131-43 when last year’s NBA Finals MVP is in their lineup.

Game 1: Sunday at Clippers, 7:30 p.m.

Prediction: Spurs in 6.

Warriors vs. Pelicans

Season Series: Warriors 3-1. Golden State won the two games on its home floor with ease, one by 27 and the other by 16. New Orleans won the last meeting, earlier this month.

Story Line: Leading MVP candidate Stephen Curry goes against the league’s unquestioned budding megastar in Anthony Davis. And the Pelicans will play like they have nothing to lose.

Key Matchup 1: Draymond Green/Andrew Bogut vs. Davis. Green figures to get the bulk of the defensive workload here and is going to have his hands full, obviously. If Davis gets rolling, the Warriors will have cause for worry. Some cause, anyway.

Key Matchup 2: Curry/Klay Thompson vs. Tyreke Evans/Eric Gordon. The Pelicans actually did OK against the Warriors’ starry backcourt, holding them to a combined 43 percent shooting. They’ll have to do that again, or even better.

X-Factor: Norris Cole. Traded to New Orleans by Miami midseason, Cole has been in three previous postseasons — getting to the NBA Finals every time. And he’s quick enough to make Curry work, too.

Game 1: Saturday at Warriors, 12:30 p.m.

Prediction: Warriors in 5.

Rockets vs. Mavericks

Season Series: Rockets 3-1. Don’t get too swayed by that. Combined score of those four games: Rockets 402, Mavericks 398. Dallas had double-digit leads in three of the games.

Story Line: James Harden missed out on the scoring title and will likely miss out on the MVP as well, but now gets a chance for something better. Harden has yet to get Houston past the first round, and his postseason career to date has been erratic at best.

Key Matchup 1: Jason Terry vs. Rajon Rondo. The Rockets went 8-3 down the stretch with Terry in the starting lineup. Rondo has been in 92 playoff games already, and though his tenure with Dallas hasn’t always been smooth he certainly knows how to win at playoff time.

Key Matchup 2: Tyson Chandler vs. Dwight Howard. There’s serious star power in this series, with Harden, Monta Ellis, Dirk Nowitzki and others. But Chandler and Howard will be vital. Some guys can get on scoring streaks; these two can get on rebound streaks.

X-Factor: Chandler Parsons. He was with the Rockets for his first three seasons, then took Dallas’ big-money offer last summer and so perhaps it’s fitting that paths cross now.

Game 1: Saturday at Rockets, 6:30 p.m.

Prediction: Rockets in 6.

Trail Blazers vs. Grizzlies

Season Series: Grizzlies 4-0. Memphis held the high-octane Blazers to 91.3 points per game — more than 12 below their average output against everyone else.

Story Line: Portland gets the higher seed by winning the Northwest Division, but doesn’t have home-court because the Grizzlies had the better record. And both of these teams have serious injury concerns.

Key Matchup 1: LaMarcus Aldridge vs. Marc Gasol. Neither figures to totally muzzle the other, but the pressure will be on both of these bigs. Aldridge adding 3-point range this season will only add to Gasol’s challenge.

Key Matchup 2: Damian Lillard vs. Mike Conley. Much like Aldridge, Lillard has gotten his numbers (22.0 ppg) against the Blazers this season. And Conley missed the end of the regular season with a foot injury, so Lillard figures to put him to the test right away.

X-Factor: Tony Allen. He hasn’t played since late March because of a bad hamstring, and the Grizzlies will need their defensive ace.

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